good morning to you. welcome to this week's edition of 9 news now's week in review. with his sleeves rolled up, the president was lobbying at the insurance industry at a rally on friday. a crowd of about 8,000 gave the president numerous standing ovations. the few protesters inside were drowned out. one had to be removed. most of the real protesters stayed outside getting their message out. >> reporter: a few hundred protesters outside the patriot center shouted and waved signs

opposing the health care bill. >> read the legislation. >> reporter: on the other side shouting back, the people who had come to see the president pitch his health care plan. >> we have a child who could not get health care because of pre-existing conditions. now, how appropriate is that? >> people are dying every day because they do not have adequate health care. >> reporter: but those opposed to the legislation say it's a bad bill that will destroy our country. >> we don't want to see happen to our country what has happened to every other country who has taken up the mantle of socialized medicine. it is destructive. >> that is job killing bill, it's a tax raising bill. there are 17 new taxes in this bill. >> reporter: the stakes are high for the president. if health care reform fails, he'll be a weakened president, his signature proposal a failure. inside the president took on a campaign-like urgency rallying the 8,000 people there to help him pass what he calls the toughest insurance reforms in

history, a goal he compared to creation of social security, medicare and medicaid. >> i don't know how passing health care will play politically, but i know it's right. teddy roosevelt knew it was right, harry truman knew when it was right. we are going to affect health care in america, with your help. >> i loved it. inspirational, exciting, inspiring. >> reporter: in fairfax, peggy fox, 9 news now. >> this was the fourth time the president visited george mason university. the first, three years ago just three weeks into his presidential campaign. the president said he didn't have a lot of money or staff back then and nobody could pronounce his name. the house was slated to vote on that bill sometime today. the fate of health care reform now depends on a few waiverring democrats and one of those at the type of this show's taping, freshman democrat conolly of

northern virginia. he insists he's undecided about the current package. his office has been bombarded with phone calls and visits from people on both sides. >> reporter: jerry conolly is still wearing his st. patrick's day carnation and still working for the massive health care reform bill. he's one of just five democrats now who can decide the fate of a package that could shape the future of the obama presidency. >> my view, maybe because i'm new around here is naive, but my view you don't buy something sight unseen. >> reporter: a handful of protesters pushing him to vote no but suspicious that he's already made up his mind to vote yes. >> i think you're a one termer, i believe. >> reporter: conolly skipped the president's rally which was all but in his own backyard. he insists it was just a scheduling conflict, but some of his potential opponents are hoping his waiverring will count against him in a seat that was for years held by a

republican. >> i'm not going to discuss anything about somebody who might run for this job later in the year. i'm just not going to respond to that. >> reporter: the speaker won't say she has the votes now, but she insists she will have them on sunday. >> do you have the votes, madam speaker? >> we, when we bring to the floor, well have a significant -- we will have a significant victory for the american people. >> have you been getting pressure from leadership? >> actually not much. it's been very light touch. >> you talked to the speaker and -- i have not talked to anyone at the white house. >> conolly says he surely will have decided his position by today's planned vote. five young american men from northern virginia pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges this week on pakistan. a disturbing letter from allegedly one of the suspects,

and a disturbing reaction from members of the local mosque where the five men once prayed. >> reporter: at the mosque where the five students turned international terror suspects prayed, some members spoke publicly for the first time. >> they were so humble, meek and -- never, ever if you tell them, okay, can i get a glass of water, he would -- >> reporter: no one knows why the five men traveled to pakistan last summer without telling their families. they were high school and university students age 18 to 22. >> the father, they have never done this, never, ever. >> never terrorists. >> never. >> they seem to be very much into themselves, not really talking to people. >> reporter: even within their own mosque, emotions range from sympathy to anger. >> some believe the five

international terror suspects have tainted the image of the 6 to # million muslims in america. >> the issue, you don't do those things. i'm a muslim and islam is all about world peace. >> reporter: the letter alleges the five were blindfolded and beaten, deprived the sleep and threatened with electrocution. >> families are very, very concerned about the allegations because under torture you can extract anything. >> reporter: but terrorism experts say the letter is nothing more than a ploy. >> we've seen time and time again that al qaeda manuals that have been found in terrorist training camps say allege torture. tell the authorities that you've been torture. >> i'm sorry, we're not available for interviews. >> reporter: we tried to speak to the families of one of the terror suspects but our request was politely declined. >> the next legal proceeding in pakistan is march 31st, the government is expected to present evidence against the

men. the families are trying to travel to that country for the trial. a new list is out this week rating washington d.c. as america's second worst winter weather city this past year. the weather channel actually rates miami worse than we were. they claim it's all about expectations and the list points out that miami had the second coldest winter since 1927. layoffs, furloughs and no raises, that's what the montgomery county executive is proposing. he says everybody will share the pain. >> in keeping with our earlier position on this matter, whatever sacrifice i ask of county employees i will continue to match and so will my entire management team and all senior members. if we are going to furlough county employees, the first person to be furloughed in montgomery county will be. >> reporter: and in fact about 230 county workers could lose

their job and most county workers would be forced it take 10 days of unpaid leave. his goal, close a 779 million- dollar budget gap. you may want to turn the sound down a bit now if you've got young children watching. new information about the investigation into an alleged gang rape in waldorf this past week. it happened at the home on nicholas street in waldorf and we are learning more about the people who live there. >> reporter: the men accused of raping a 30-year-old alexandria woman in this waldorf home are in jail being held without bond. six men have been arrested, but up to nine suspects are involved. the charles county sheriff's department is looking for two to three more suspects. the problem is, they don't know who they're looking for. >> we still haven't positively identified them, therefore we don't have any pictures to share with the public. >> reporter: diane richardson says at least 15 people were living in the home. >> there were children in the house at the time the assault occurred. >> reporter: she says most are

not in the country legally. >> anybody come and go, come and go. i mean at times you'd see seven, eight cars in there. >> reporter: some neighbors have been suspicious about the house. >> we heard the commotion that night, the loud noise and the car when it pulled up and the loud music but we didn't think it was somebody being dragged into their house. >> reporter: in charles being, there is no legal limit to the number of people allowed to live in one home, but that's only if they are all related. if not, there's only supposed to be a maximum of eight people. that's according to both zoning and fire safety code. it is not known whether the people living in this home are related. according to court documents, the victim believes she saw the men flash gang signs. >> at this point there's no direct evidence linking this to gang activity, however it's something that will fallnd the scope of the investigation. >> reporter: according to the sheriff's department, no one has ever complained. and if someone is concerned about too many people living in

a home in charles county, they are asked to contact the planning and zoning department. right now the men arrested face rape and false imprisonment charges. the assault of a girl more than a year ago has her family trying to force some big changes. lawmaker want to stop schools from allowing offenders to go back to the same classroom with their victims. >> reporter: they are parents on a mission. a mission focused on getting lawmakers attention after what happened to their is a-year-old daughter last year. >> my 15-year-old daughter at the time was assaulted by three boys. >> reporter: she was a student in rockville when she was given alcohol and gang raped at a party in january of last year. the juvenile attackers admitted to rape, got only probation, and then were allowed back to mcgruder where their victim was still trying to get her life back on track. >> her being in the same school

as the perpetrators and her friends that persecute her on a daily basis was just unbelievable. >> reporter: it was his daughter who had to move to nevada. with relatives. while the offenders continued at mcgruder because school officials had no authority to move them. >> they would go oh another school. >> reporter: senator mike lynette held hearings today on a bill that would prohibit schools from allowing convicted violent offenders to go back to the same school with their victims. >> she was forced to uproot her whole life away from her friends, her classes, her whole life to go somewhere else. >> reporter: tremble's daughter has now returned to montgomery county, she's a junior in high school, a school where she now has no contact with her attackers. >> the attackners that case have not been identified because they were juveniles when the assault occurred. it was the explosion caught on video that decimated a

shopping center injuring eight firefighters and a gas company worker. now a federal report indicates the actions of prince george's county firefighters could have made this situation a lot worse. we have the story you'll see first on 9 news now. >> reporter: eight fighters and a -- eight firefighters and a gas company worker were injured, but a new report indicates that firefighters took actions that could have caused an explosion even earlier, when customers and workers were still inside the stores. they see the basic problem as this. two months prior to the incident, the fire department's standard operating guidelines were updated. this included the guidelines for instances involving flammable gasses. many officers and firefighters were not aware of the latest revision. firefighters all tell us when a gas leak occurs, don't operate light switches or other

circuits worried that a spark could cause an explosion. but the firefighters didn't listen to their own advice. the personnel found an electrical panel and began to turn individual breakers off, instead of the main disconnect to the building. this was done without incident, however, any breaker could have the potential to spark causing an explosion if the requisite concentration of gas was present. another source could have been a fan used by firefighters in an effort to rid the building of natural gas. but the fan malfunctioned. the fact it didn't work may have prevented an explosion from occurring earlier in the evacuation. at that point, ventilation may have put the concentration of natural gas in the explosive range. in addition, the fan could have provided the ignition source. an 11 year long road to justice came to a final end for the family of a young girl from mon ass murdered in her own home. paul powell, the man who killed her and raped her then 14-year- old sister was put to death in

the state of virginia's electric chair. >> the death was pronounced at 9:09 pm. there were no complications, and mr. powell did not make a last statement. >> reporter: with that, the whole world heard of the execution of convicted murderer paul warner powell 11 years after he broke no a home and murdered 16-year-old stacy reid and brutally raped and slashed her then 14-year-old sister. commonwealth's attorney paul leiber was with the family when powell stopped breathing. >> my sense is that that they have some closure and some sol i also as a result of his death, they don't have to worry about being taunted in the future. >> reporter: the family did not speak following the execution, but earlier in the afternoon the mother said she hoped powell's death would close this chapter in their lives. >> we've been praying for him and he knows that i've reached the point of forgiveness, i was able to express that in a

letter to him. >> reporter: and she also revealed to the richmond times dispatch in an hour long phone conversation with powell on wednesday he said he was sorry and called the crime senseless and pointless. finally, the only reason the execution happened at all, a letter written by powell himself bragging of the awful crime after the state supreme court ruled powell's original conviction was only serious enough to warrant life in prison. that letter sparked a new trial and the death penalty, unfair said powell's emotional attorney john sheldon. >> what the criminal justice system has done is they've taken paul powell and that terrible crime they've committed. >> reporter: and sheldon said even though powell paid no final statement, he was extremely remorseful for his crime. that's why i've prepared my perdue perfect portions fresh chicken breasts. they're individually wrapped, so you can cook what you need and store what you don't. [ male announcer ] perdue perfect portions.

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graduating its players at just 8%. we have more from college park. >> reporter: the survey did not look at this year's team. it considered players who enrolled between 1999 and 2002 and gave them six years to try and graduate. the at maryland during that period, just a third of the white players graduated, and not a single african-american basketball player earned his degree. >> i just think it's shocking. >> reporter: the news came as a surprise to some students and some prospective students were dismayed. >> everybody needs to graduate no matter what. if you go to college, you're going there to graduate, not just it play basketball. >> reporter: the secretary of education says the same thing. arnie duncan challenged the ncaa to kick out of the tournament any team with a less than 40% graduation rate. that would exclude maryland and 11 other teams. >> might as well make the best of your college experience and graduate, just so if the nba

doesn't work out they have the opportunity to do something else in life. >> reporter: coach gary williams says the numbers are ancient history. the team put out a police release saying 11 of the 12 students in the survey left to go pro, that 8 of the terps last 10 seniors have graduated and that all four seniors in the current class are expected to earn degrees. >> maryland obviously doesn't give these guys passing grades just to pass them. we pass them hard. >> i think that's kind of ridiculous. i don't know, we get a lot of support ack democrat he cannily, being a part of the lacrosse team we get tutors whenever we want, i feel like we get pretty good help with everything we need. >> and coach williams says maryland has stepped up its tutoring and academic support but the institute for diversity and ethics in sports says even by the up to date more academic progress rates maryland is falling behind. coupon use is up for the

first time in two decades. when the economy goes down, more and more of us are motivated to clip and carry. in fact, the association of coupon professionals says 70% of americans use coupons and some are willing to bid for those savings. >> reporter: kelly needs to replenish her stash of cat food, but before she hits the grocery store she does a quick online search for coupons. >> you can see we have two dollar off coupons, a free bag coupons, something really valuable, $10 off one bag. >> reporter: you will have to spend to save on auction sites. these coupons are not free. the cost, anywhere from pennies to $10 or more. kelly sees the benefit. >> when i got two cats from the aspca i was buying them premium cat food and found a couple of coupons online that enabled me to basically get a $12 bag for about $5. >> reporter: that's a savings

of almost 60%. grant is skilled at stretching a dollar. she has a lot of coupon carrying company at the checkout. >> one of the places that consumers are going is online to some of these auction and sales sites. >> reporter: so click, clip and carry movement is taking off. online coupon sales for everything from groceries to retail items are soaring. >> some people in this economy are they need those coupons. >> that sounds like going to a lot of trouble. >> reporter: you do have to wait to bid, and you need to make sure the coupon has not expired. one search on ebay turned up nearly 36,000 coupons, an indication of just how many people are willing to buy into this craze. >> other coupon information corporation and others want us to resist the urge to spend for those savings. they say, counterfeit coupons are out there across the internet. the only way to be sure your

coupon is legit, get it from a manufacturer or your sunday paper or a sound website. for a link to help you spot fakes, go to our website and click on living smart. this next story is geared towards adults, those of you with your young children watching may want to take heed to this. irrecollect tile dysfunction may be more than just an issue in the bedroom. new research shows that the sexual problem could be a dangerous warning sign. >> reporter: dr. franklin lowe is a urologist who treats men for problems with their love life, but those symptoms may mean something more life- threatening. >> reporter: should be a tip- off for being evaluated for heart disease. doctor mark turco agreed. he's currently leading a clinical trial look into dysfunction and heart disease and the need for alternative

treatments. >> it is critical we diagnose this very early and realize that patients with irrecollect tile dysfunction may be early presenters for cardiovascular disease. >> reporter: the american heart association study found patients with both heart problems are twice as likely to have a heart attack and twice as likely to die. researchers worried a large segment of men are being he is placed at risk because they get treated with popular drugs and think their problems are solved. nearly 2 billion worth of viagra was sold just last year. >> we are realizing that we need to work together, so urologists need to work with cardiovascular specialists. >> reporter: doctors already knew there was a link because both are connected to restrked blood flow. >> it is caused in upwards of

30 to 50% of the patient population due to blockages within arteries that supply the area. >> and he says ongoing clinical trials are exploring alternative ways to deal with e.d. including using coronary stints. also this week, important news from a major cardiology meeting. women who suffer a heart attack are twice as likely as men to die within the following month. researchers say women receive less aggressive treatment than many male patients, they're less likely to get invasive tests like an angiogram or a balloon angioplasty. dr. cynthia tracy says women often present more complicated symptoms that don't always seem to point to a heart attack. >> one thing we knew is that women do tend to show up older than men do at the time they have their first heart attack. what happens is they have more other medical issues. but they need to even outside

of the specialty of cardiology be aware of these things. >> she says too few women know their numbers, like cholesterol and triglycerides which can be red flags years before a heart attack can strike. 108 soldiers of the d.c. national guard are back home this week after a year long tour of duty in iraq. >> glad to be among friends and family again. >> reporter: their long journey home greeted with warm hugs and familiar faces. >> welcome home. >> it feels wonderful to be back on u.s. soil. >> reporter: specialist chandra miller had a unique experience in iraq. she served alongside her sister and her mother sergeant marches that reed. the sisters came home today to their department for the first time in a year. >> we're just happy to come home to normality. >> reporter: because overseas.

>> there's distraction and a blessing at the same time. >> reporter: had its ups and downs. >> just knowing that your mom and your sister are there and possibly in the line of fire and you might have to be the one to pull them out of there, it was hard to think of. >> reporter: yet they wouldn't trade this experience for nigh a little more comforting knowing that they were there for just the little things. >> reporter: while the girls are excited to be back home once again, a big part of them is missing. their mother decide today stay behind and serve another six months in iraq. for a family in battle, they say they grew closer on the front lines of war than in peacetime at home. >> the bond that we've made being in such a stressful environment with mom and sis, it kind of gave you a new outlook. >> reporter: 9 news now. >> and for some of the soldiers, this was their third deployment to iraq since 9/11. that's the week in review for this week. you have a great one. enjoy this weather. bye-bye

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